Late October of 1981
by Sophie1989
Summary: A rainy afternoon in Godric's Hollow reveals flashbacks of how James & Lily's love blossomed, from each other's point of view : James & Lily
1. Sitting by the Lake

_It was mid-September in the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the tall lanky figure of James Potter stood with his hands shoved in his pockets whilst he leant against a tree. He felt his heart racing as he watched the slender body of Lily Evans walking away from him, towards the grand castle of the school they both attended. A smile remained on his face as he watched the flowers she passed open up and lean in the direction she was walking, a charm he knew she only cast when she seemed happy. Lily, he knew, was a powerful witch, one with deep knowledge and a good heart, who was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He__'d spent the past seven years at school trying to impress her with jokes and his usual air of confidence but for some reason it had never worked. He was just as popular as she was, and a brilliant seeker for their house's Quidditch team. Every girl had wanted to be his, every girl but the one he truly desired…the one he truly loved, Lily._

_So he'd been surprised at the intimate moment they had just shared by the lake that stood in Hogwarts' grounds. A moment where all of a sudden they had found equal grounds. As though the feelings that one felt, the other reciprocated. Or so it had felt to James. She had, after all, been the only one to look for him. The only one to find him. The only one to ask him if he were okay. The only one to offer comfort should he need it. And from the moment he had seen her approaching him from the corner of his eye, a wave of relief had cast upon him, relief that her presence proved she __did __care no matter what she or anyone else had said before._

_So with a huge deep breath, James tried to dig up the confidence he had never had a problem of finding before now, and began to run after the young woman. As he approached her, he began to slow down, trying desperately to think of the right words to say. His heart thundered against his ribcage, an action that rarely happened, but he had never felt so nervous before._

_JAMES: Evans!_

_His stomach twisted slightly as he watched her long, fine, red hair flick in the light, warm evening breeze as she turned to face him. He looked into her bright green eyes, one of her best features he felt, and watched as her expression seemed to reveal a look of expectation. A look that excited James to think this conversation may go well. There was a long pause as the young man steadied his breathing after the run and he flashed her a nervous smile as he grabbed the hair at the back of his head, nervously tufting it about before reaching the hand out towards her as he spoke:_

_JAMES: I…erm…the trip to Hogsmeade next week…did you want to meet me at The Three Broomsticks for a drink, maybe?_

_He watched as the red head before him raised her eyebrows slightly, making James' stomach plummet. He already knew the answer just by the look on her face._

_LILY: You mean…like a date?_

_James had asked her out too many times before over the years, and looking back on the way he'd asked her made him cringe. He'd been such a cocky git. Leaning against walls, timing the question inappropriately, for example; whilst he was hexing an innocent first year Slytherin student, or just as he was about to play/had just finished playing Quidditch. This time around he was hesitant, mostly because of his failed attempts before. She was just so beautiful. Her long red hair, her bright green eyes, her fair skin that seemed so radiant all the time. Whenever she entered a room she was all he could look at, not that she ever looked back. James could already tell it was going to be a long final year at the school with her after she would turn him down again, so he decided to desperately backtrack, hoping they could at least be friends throughout this year. Though finding the words were difficult:_

JAMES: Er…yeah…well no…kind of…you know, just a drink. Like you said, if I needed to talk…

_LILY: That's what I sa-id._

Her sing-song words trickled into his ears like beautiful music and a dopey smile grew onto his face as he watched her nod slightly, her gorgeous smile a reflection of the tone of her contented voice:

_LILY: Sounds good to me. The Three Broomsticks then, say, one o'clock?_

_James' heart beat once again as he breathed an ecstatic sigh of relief that the woman he had loved since the moment he had set eyes on her seven years ago was finally agreeing to go out with him, even if it was only for one drink as platonic friends. He froze suddenly as she reached out and held his hand briefly while leaning close to him, her bright green eyes boring into his hazel brown and she whispered softly:  
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_LILY: I look forward to it._

_James watched overjoyed as she gave him a little wink and continued to walk up the hill towards the castle, leaving the young man behind to silently celebrate his success._

The rain rattled against the pane of the window as the blustery, grim October weather had settled in on a chilly late afternoon in the small village of Godric's Hollow. But Lily Potter didn't mind. She lay on her side, her back to the window, on top of her bed, propping herself up by her elbow as she looked at the two bodies that lay beside her. Letting out a content sigh she couldn't help the small smile that crept into the corners of her mouth as she looked down at her baby boy who lay sleeping peacefully beside her. Bringing her right hand up, she pulled a stray part of her long red hair and placed it back behind her ear before reaching out and, with the most gentlest of touches, glazed a fingertip over her son's soft arms. She always loved afternoons like this. There was something so cosy about being tucked up in the warmest room of the house, a small fire crackling away from the tiny fireplace opposite the bed whilst the rain battered from outside. And there, laying right beside her, was her baby boy. Her little Harry.

She mused for a moment, thinking how funny it was that if someone had turned to her five years ago and told her that she would be married with a baby by the time she was twenty one she would have laughed in their face and called them crazy. But here she was, staring at the most precious thing in her life. She couldn't describe the love she held for this little human, who had stirred slightly before letting out a little yawn then resuming his sleep. Half a part of her. Half a part of her husband. And boy, did this little one resemble her husband. Every time she looked at her son, her heart rose with joy and pride that she had managed to give her husband a son, a son that looked the spitting image of him. Despite only being one year old, Harry already had thick black hair like his father, that showed early signs of being just as unruly. She had seen a photo of her husband at only a year old and couldn't believe how alike Harry was to him. But Harry's eyes…well they were all her. Bright green. Eyes that she had inherited from her mother, eyes that her mother had inherited from Lily's grandfather.

Lily moved her gaze from her son and looked over at the body that lay facing her in a deep sleep the other side of their baby. As a slight snore erupted from the man's nose Lily couldn't help smiling wider while laughing quietly for a moment. Not only would the idea of being married and having a baby in the space of five years be unimaginable to Lily when she was just sixteen, the idea of her doing all of it with James Potter would have been equally beyond belief. The first six years of their interaction at Hogwarts hadn't exactly been that of future lovers. She wasn't afraid to admit that she'd disliked him. Not loathed him. Not hated him. Just _disliked_ him. He was very good looking, yes, and always had been. But it was his childish attitude that had evolved into cockiness and often bullying that had resorted a teenage Lily to be certain that James Potter was everything she _didn't_ want in a future husband.

Lily looked with affection at her husband, who had lazily pushed his glasses up onto his forehead while falling asleep earlier that afternoon. She watched the way his chest rose and fell with each breath. The smell of his aftershave sent a warm, safe feeling over her body and as she gazed lovingly at his face she was reminded of the moment she realised he wasn't quite the cocky git he'd used to be:

_Lily Evans made her way down the hill, away from Hogwarts castle and towards the lake that lay beside a lightly wooded area, a wood that was no where near as thick as the Forbidden Forest. She had ran out of the classroom as soon as class was over, making her excuses to her friend Mary, before placing her Transfiguration books into the beaded bag Professor Dumbledore had given her when she had arrived at Hogwarts the previous day, and slinking the tiny bag into her skirt pocket. Now she was practically running down the hill, about to start searching the final part of the grounds she could think of searching. There was no __way__ she was going to look for him in The Forbidden Forest, so if he wasn't here she would be forced to give up looking._

_As she approached the edge of the lake she breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath after the small run down to the water's edge. She thought back to that moment in the Transfiguration class, when Professor McGonagall had finally approached James Potter and asked him to transfigure a toad into a rabbit and back again. Lily remembered the compassion she felt for the young man who sat at the table beside her, trying for several minutes to do the transfiguration before crushing under the pressure and angrily storming out of the classroom when he couldn't perform the spell. To her surprise, their Professor hadn't called after him but merely moved on to the next student._

_Lily looked out into the horizon as the warm mid-September sun began to set. The nights were beginning to draw in as winter approached with every day that passed, and with another sigh she decided that enough was enough. She'd spend a good hour looking for James and he was no where to be seen, so to save herself from getting into trouble for being out of the castle after dark, she began to make her way back towards the castle. Suddenly she heard a small sob, and furrowing her brow slightly, she approached the tree from where the sob had emanated from. Lily hesitated, her heart reaching out to the young man hunched under the tree as he lifted his glasses up, wiped the tears from his eyes and replaced them back onto the bridge of his nose. As he sniffed loudly she approached him cautiously, clearing her throat but failing at her attempt to not startle him._

_LILY: Potter?_

_She couldn't believe how different he was from the way he'd been in general over the past six years. Something had happened to change this cocky, jokey young man. It had been yesterday, on the Hogwarts Express that had taken her from Kings Cross Station over to Hogwarts, that she had really noticed a difference in James. Initially she'd been miserably surprised to see him sitting in the 'Griffindor Compartment' of the Head Boy/Head Girl carriage on the train, her hopes of a productive, professional and successful year ahead diminished before her very eyes. But as the journey began and continued she sat in amazement as she realised the cocky, immature boy before her had in fact matured into an engaging young man. Yet there had been a tint of sadness in his eyes every time she'd looked into them. A tint that made her wonder what had happened to make him so quiet. For he had barely spoken throughout the whole journey in comparison to Lily, instead choosing to listen to all the hopes and ideas she had for their house for the year and giving his opinion only when asked for it. _

_Now, as she stood by the tree, she found herself in a situation she had never imagined she'd find herself in. The once 'great' James Potter was sat in pieces before her very eyes. This venerability was somewhat endearing to Lily, who was touched that he seemed comfortable enough in her presence to be okay with her seeing him in this way. With a deep breath she made to sit down beside him, not caring that the ground was muddy, but to her dismay he held a hand up to stop her and she stood upright again. Getting ready to be told to leave, Lily held her breath, but his words never came. Instead she watched as James pulled half of the robe he'd been sitting on, and placed it over the muddy space she had been intending to sit on. Touched that he cared enough about her to protect her skirt from getting dirty, Lily sat on the ground alongside James, the two nervously aware of their bodies against each other in order to keep clean. They sat in silence as James enchanted several twigs to spin hypnotically before them as the tension rose between the two teens._

_LILY: You do know if you need to talk about anything, I'm here for you._

_Lily watched as the enchanted twigs fell to the ground and James hung his head sadly before letting out a sigh and she took his hand as a form of comfort._

_JAMES: My Dad died over the summer._

_Lily felt her heart twist slightly as she looked sympathetically at the young man before her. Suddenly it all made sense. How one situation could cause such a change in a person. She knew how he felt, after all her father had died several years ago. There would be such a change in the household, she knew all about it._

_LILY: Oh, I'm so sorry._

_She watched as he pulled his hand away from hers, and it wasn't until he did, that she realised just how comfortable it had been holding his hand. She wanted to comfort him, to encourage him to talk about how he was feeling. Talking had been the way she'd been able to get over the death of her own father. Then again her father hadn't exactly been the best role model. He'd had quite a violent nature, her mother being on the receiving end of most of his rages. Those days had been the days when Petunia and Lily had relied on each other for protection and comfort. Those had been the days when the sisters had been close. Those had been the days before Lily had received her letter from Hogwarts. As she looked at the man beside her she knew he wasn't ready to open up, to tell her all that he was feeling, but she knew that in time he would. All he needed for now, was to know that he wasn't alone. And with that in mind, Lily leaned into him, relieved to feel him put an arm around her shoulder as she brought her arm around his waist and they sat there cuddling for a little while. She heard him take a deep intake of breath and knew he was smelling her hair, after all she had been taking this time to breath in the smell of his aftershave which sent a warm comforting rush over her body. She sat up, bringing her eyes up to his and the longing look that he gave her made her hesitate. She knew that look. It was that longing look he'd been giving her since the first day they had met all those years ago. All those years with so much history. But for the first time, that look gave Lily butterflies in her stomach. She could feel his breath on her face, and her hesitation grew strong. Clearing her throat, she sat up properly, resulting in James bringing his arm from around her shoulder, his longing look slightly tainted with sadness. But Lily didn't want to act on any feelings that may have grown for him recently. Not yet anyway. It wasn't fair to be taking advantage of him in the venerable state he was in at the moment._

_LILY: I'd better go._

_She couldn't help whispering the words. She couldn't believe she was saying them. All she wanted to do was to sit with him. For the first time ever she felt safe in his presence. For the first time, she felt as though she could happily sit with him forever. Just as they were. For the first time ever, she secretly admitted that she might have feelings for the young man beside her, who looked at her through his glasses with a disappointed look on his face._

_LILY: Like I said, if you need to talk about anything just let me know Potter. I'll be here for you._

_And in a sudden impulsive moment, she leaned forward and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. Her eyes closed for the millisecond that the peck took, but in that millisecond she had noticed how soft his cheek had felt against her nose and how scratchy his stubble had felt on her chin. As she leant back she couldn't help but giggle slightly at the look of pleasant surprise that had wiped over James' face as he turned to her and grinned widely. Grabbing his shoulder, she used it as leverage to help her stand up then she turned back to him one last time._

_LILY: Good to see that smile back again. I'll see you at dinner._

_And with one final smile, Lily turned back towards the castle, her hands glazing gently over the tall flowers that lined the path as she walked, knowing full well that they would open up at her touch._

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><p><strong>Well there marks the end of chapter one :) I hope you found it a good read.<strong>

I've recently had a fascination into the relationship of James & Lily Potter so decided to write a story capturing some of the most memorable moments that I imagine them having, as we've never been told how the two really fell in love or became husband and wife. All we know from the books is that they didn't exactly click from the word go.

Reviews and Ratings are always appreciated.  
>The second chapter currently in progress :)<p> 


	2. The Stags Heart

_The mid-September sun shone half heartedly as the breeze whipped its way around the small streets of Hogsmeade. Hundreds of students from Hogwarts milled around from shop to shop excitably, enthusiastic to be spending all the galleons, sickles and knuts their parents had packed them off with at the start of the school year._

_Making her way through the crowd of students was the slim red-headed figure of Lily Evans as she headed towards The Three Broomsticks Pub. She had made her excuses to her friends, before leaving them in the jewellery shop. Now as she approached the front door of the pub she felt her heart pounding with nerves. She hadn't realized how much she'd been looking forward to this moment with James until now, after all she hadn't really seen him much over the past couple of days except for meal times in the Great Hall. And even then he'd been sitting, laughing with his friends about something or other._

_Lily took a deep breath and pushed open the door. This wasn't a date. Or so she kept telling herself. That's what he'd said, that it wasn't a date. It was just a chance to talk. Lily tried to muster some confidence with a little smile to herself but she found herself twisting a small lock of her hair as she nervously looked around the room for a tall, mid-sixteen year old, with jet black messy hair and glasses. And a cute grin. Cute grin, Lily rolled her eyes, two weeks ago she would have never described James Potter's grin as cute. Her stomach twisted slightly as she continued to think. Maybe she'd fallen for him a little quicker than she'd thought. No, she couldn't possibly have fallen for him. It wasn't as though she'd been looking at him that much during the mealtimes in the Great Hall. Or purposely sat for hours on end in the Gryffindor Common Room 'reading' a book in the hope that he might turn up and talk to her. Or that she'd defended him when her friends had laughed at how terrible he'd become at transfiguration, or muggle studies, or charms recently, or how bad his first Quidditch match of the year had been. Lily had often kicked herself at how quick she'd been to defend him, sympathetically remarking that he was probably distracted, much to the surprise of her friends who had expected her to join in._

_She decided to venture further into the pub, surprised at how many tall men with black hair there were in the cosy building, but none of them were James, she knew even without looking at their faces. After making her way around the whole room, Lily was stumped. James was nowhere to be seen, and she glanced up at the large clock that gently ticked past the 'ten past one' point from behind the bar. The bar, Lily rolled her eyes again at her lack of intelligence, and she slowly walked up to the woman stood behind the bar. The woman, Madame Rosemerta, had been the landlady of The Three Broomsticks for three years now and had managed to build the reputation of the pub back up to par. A youngish lady with a brilliant sense of style, a brassy nature, with a flirty side to her that managed to catch the eye of every man that stepped into the pub. Whether she took much notice of who the men were, Lily wasn't sure. But the red head approached the bar anyway, waiting politely for the flirty conversation Rosemerta was having with a couple of men to come to a natural end._

_LILY: Excuse me?_

_Lily watched as the woman from behind the bar seemed surprised by the interruption, but instead of a telling off like she expected, the landlady gave her a warm smile and stood closer to Lily, speaking to her in a surprisingly brass cockney accent:_

_MADAME ROSEMERTA: What can I do for ya Miss?_

_The warm smile made Lily relax slightly and her confidence rose as each word she spoke quietly to the landlady fell out of her mouth:_

_LILY: I'm looking for a young man. About six foot. Slim, with dark black hair and glasses._

_MADAME ROSEMERTA: Aren't we all!_

_Lily was taken aback by the answer as she looked at the cheeky grin on Rosemerta's face, but the woman before her gave her a little wink and Lily realised she was just joking. She watched as the woman behind the bar leant towards her and spoke as though what she was saying was a secret:_

_MADAME ROSEMERTA: Yeah I know the guy. If you go through there, you'll find him, he's got a table for you both._

_Lily followed the landlady's motion towards a well-lit small walkway that led to another room that the young red head had never even realised existed. She thanked the woman politely then slowly made her way nervously towards the new room. As she stepped over the threshold, she was taken aback at the small room she'd just entered. The were five small tables of two, which had a lit candle on each one, and at the back she could see a fire burning away in a fireplace. The ceiling had been enchanted to represent a clear starry night sky, not like the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, where the ceiling was enchanted to represent whatever the sky was outside at the time. And stood by the fireplace, with his back to her, was James. She could tell by his posture he was nervous, or so she hoped. She wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the next hour or so with the cocky James she had known and disliked when they'd been younger. Lily cleared her throat quietly and watched James turn quickly on the spot, the smile that grew on his face calmed her slightly._

_LILY: Sorry I'm late._

_She watched as the young man walked towards her shaking his head slightly:_

_JAMES: I was early. I just needed to make sure Rosemerta had opened this section of the pub up like she said she would._

_Lily was touched that he'd gone to all this trouble to make sure they had a nice setting for their time together. She unbuttoned her coat, smiling in surprise as she watched James walk behind her and take the coat from around her shoulders to place on the back of a chair at a table by the window. She couldn't help the deep breath she'd taken as he'd walked past her. He was wearing that aftershave again. The scent that brought a warm, safe rush over her body. Lily couldn't help the smile on her face as she found her eyes bared into James'. She'd never imagined he could turn into the man he was becoming. Kind, polite and going to lots of trouble for someone. And right now that someone was her._

_JAMES: Do you want a Butterbeer?_

_His voice had been low, and Lily mustered all of her energy not to giggle nervously. She nodded slowly, watching him leave the room as she took a seat on the chair that her coat was on. Drinking together over candle light, with an enchanted starry night sky and a crackling fire in the corner… Lily was struggling to see how this was not a date._

James awoke suddenly but kept his eyes closed. He knew he'd just woken himself up with a loud snore, after all he did it far too often. He could hear the sound of the October rain rattling against the bedroom window. He could feel the soft comfort of his bed beneath him and could sense the presence of his baby son beside him, hearing the heavy breathing that the little boy let out. Within moments of waking he heard a small, silent laugh from the right hand side of the bed beside him. A laugh he had loved from the moment he had heard it. A laugh he knew belonged to his beautiful wife. He remained as solemn as possible, not wanting to let on to her that he'd woken up, and chose to speak in a quiet tone in an attempt not to break up the calm, quiet atmosphere in the room:

JAMES: I know you're looking at me.

Already he could picture the look on her face. A look of joyful surprise. And as he thought more and more of what she would look like, the more he yearned to see her in the flesh. So in one lazy motion he'd pulled his glasses from the top of his head and down onto the bridge of his nose as he opened his eyes. The inevitable smile was spread over his wife's face as she raised her eyebrows in a 'so what' manner:

LILY: So? Can't a woman look longingly at her husband every now and again?

James laughed out loud for what felt like the first time in a long time. It had been three years since they got married but he was still getting used to hearing her call him her husband. He always felt as though he wanted to dance every time he heard her say it, or every time he thought about it. She was beautiful, intelligent, kind and funny and he loved her with all his heart. As he locked eyes with her bright green eyes and noticed the affectionate smile on her face he thought back to the moment when he realised that she finally felt the same way.

_JAMES: Dad would've liked you._

_James had been sat with Lily for the past hour, drinking their respective Butterbeer's and chatting about this and that. He was touched that Lily had been asking questions about his Dad. What he was like as a person, what his job had been, how old his parents had been when they'd got married and whether they were good parents or not. He wondered why Lily had seemed almost jealous when he'd gushed about how brilliant, loving and supportive his Dad had always been. He now sat, kicking himself slightly as he pushed aside his second empty Butterbeer glass, wishing he'd asked her about her family. Instead, he was still talking about himself. And his most recent remark seemed to have caught the beautiful red head sat in front of him by surprise. He watched her eyebrows raise slightly, as she nervously fiddled with her empty Butterbeer glass that stood next to his:_

_LILY: Really?_

_JAMES: Well who wouldn't! You're beautiful, intelligent, kind, funny, caring…you've been really supportive of me and I know Dad would be really pleased to know that there's someone out there for me to be all those things that I need right now. He was always so worried I'd be alone._

_He couldn't help his sentence trailing off at the end as he blurted out everything that he'd been thinking about over the week. If his friends, The Marauderers, heard what he'd just said they would be keeling over, laughing their heads off. Now James was embarrassed, he didn't want to seem like a girl, being all soft and mushy talking about his feelings. He half expected the teen before him to walk out laughing, ready to run back to her friends and tell them all about how emotional the 'great' James Potter was. But to his surprise, he felt Lily's warm hand envelope his and he looked from her pale white hand up to her brilliant bright green eyes. Her face was soft and a small affectionate smile had grown from her lips. _

_LILY: So long as I'm around, you'll never be alone James._

_James froze, he'd never heard her call him by his first name before. They had always been on a last name basis. He'd always called her Evans, she'd always called him Potter. But as her final word, as his name spoken through her mouth echoed in his ears, he melted and succumbed to his love for her. He liked it, he liked the way she said his name and he hoped that from now on she would refer to him by it. He looked back down at her hand enveloping his and watched as she pulled it away timidly. He'd never anticipated her to be so nervous when they were alone together like this. She'd acted uneasy on many an occasion in the past, when he'd swaggered up to her time and time again to ask her out or to point out all of his strengths and pros. He knew from all the numerous times that she'd rejected him that her idea of an ideal date wouldn't be to a Quidditch match, or a trip to the Shrieking Shack to watch his friend, Mooney, transform into a werewolf under the full moon. So he thought a nice quiet drink over candle light would be more her style. That she wouldn't be so nervous, after all she loved the quiet. She loved sitting in the library with a book (or so he imagined her doing, having never actually been into the library at Hogwarts) or curled up in Gryffindor Common Room by the fire doing a bit of studying. But here she was, acting nervously. He'd clearly failed in predicting what she'd want from a date. He'd imagined her to be chatty, giggly and confident like she was with her friends, and that having a more comfortable environment would help that. But she'd remained quiet and nervous. _

_JAMES: Would you like another drink?_

_As Lily nodded with a smile, he stood up, collecting their empty glasses to take back through to the main body of the pub. Just before stepping through the threshold, he took one glance back at the beautiful red-head he'd spent the past hour practically staring at, drinking in all of her features, from the intricate freckles around her nose that were so light he'd never noticed them until this afternoon, to her bright green eyes which had small flecks of brown around the pupil. He watched her turn to look at him, an embarrassed grin appearing on her face before she quickly turned away and James couldn't help the wave of excitement that came over his body as he made his way over to the bar, hardly able to wait to get back to her. To hear her soft voice that always managed to seep gently into his ear like the sweet sound of a song he never wanted to end. As he leaned up against the bar waiting for Madame Rosemerta to finish flirting with a small gaggle of sixth year Hufflepuff boys, James had a lazy glance around the pub which had filled up substantially since his arrival at half past twelve. The pub was mostly filled with Hogwarts' students, all getting a taste of the legendary Butterbeer's that had put Hogsmeade on the map in the Wizarding World. The door of the pub opened and James' stomach plummeted as he glanced across the room at the latest addition to the punters. Two Slytherin Seventh Year's, Mulciber and Avery, stood in the doorway looking around the room menacingly. James moved very quickly through the crowd of students away from the bar, away from the door and back to Lily. He had to get them out of here and fast. As he reached the threshold to the small room Lily was in, he looked over at his shoulder just as Mulciber spotted him, nudging Avery, resulting in the two slowly making their way through the thick crowd of punters towards the doorway that James had last been seen._

_James felt bad as he raced into the room and grabbed Lily by the hand. She looked at him in surprise with a questioning look on her face as he pulled her to the furthest corner he could find that was out of view of the doorway that the two Slytherin's would enter through._

_JAMES: Change of plan._

_LILY: James wha-?_

_He heard the confusion in her voice, he never wanted to ruin a perfectly wonderful afternoon, but right now the last thing he wanted was for either of them to be hurt. He rummaged deep into his jeans pocket which he'd enchanted to make deeper than any regular pocket, and pulled out his invisibility cloak._

_JAMES: Mulciber and Avery are coming…_

_He saw the colour drain from the red-head's face as she heard his words and her expression fell. James knew she didn't like Mulciber and Avery at the best of times, anymore than he did. They were renowned for heavily practicing dark magic, practicing spells and potions on innocent First or Second Year students. But before he could say anymore he could hear the Slytherin's approach the doorway to the room. With one full sweep, he pulled Lily close to him and threw the cloak over the top of their heads knowing that once they were covered by it they would not be seen. James held his breath, looking out as he heard their footsteps enter the room. He could feel Lily gripping his waist tightly as her hand rested on his chest and he was sure she'd be able to feel his heart as it hammered against his ribcage while he watched the two Slytherin's approach the table they'd been sat at, inspecting Lily's coat that still remained on the seat she'd been sat on. James watched the young men before them as he heard the woman he clung to let out a little gasp. His heart jumped as the Slytherin's looked over at them then down at the place where James and Lily's feet would be…where their feet were. James' heart plunged as he knew their feet could be seen and he silently cursed the final growth spurt he'd endured over the summer, which meant their 'hiding place' was revealed._

_MULCIBER: Invisibility cloak eh Potter? Nice try…_

_James' heart raced as he watched the two large Slytherin's stride over to them with menace as they drew their wands, and without thinking he brought his hand from around Lily's waist to draw his own wand from his pocket. He'd hex them to near death if it meant getting Lily out untouched. But before he could reach his jeans he felt her soft hand wrap its way tightly around his and a sharp tugging sensation was felt from his navel pulling him backwards. Images blurred around him, all intertwined with the flowing red hair of the young woman he'd been stood under the cloak with as the teens disapparated from the danger of the pub. Suddenly they landed with a thud on the ground of the wood that lay between Hogsmeade and the grounds of Hogwarts, James missing his footing and falling backwards, resulting in Lily falling on top of him after failing to keep him upright. They both lay for a moment, slightly out of breath from the adrenaline rush of almost getting caught, with small smiles on their faces. James stared into her eyes. He wasn't surprised at how light her slim body felt, and he watched as she gently rolled off him, sitting up whilst pulling the cloak from over their heads. He watched her delicate hands roll the cloak into a neat ball, then push the strands of red hair back that had been smeared all over her face from the fall, before she turned to look down at him with a grin and a small sigh._

_LILY: So…care to tell me why Mulciber and Avery were after you?_

_James sat up on his elbows, groaning slightly as he felt a bruising pain across his back. But as he looked into the bright green eyes of the woman sat beside him, the pain suddenly numbed. He couldn't help the small smile creeping from the corners of his mouth as he raised his eyebrows to explain:_

_JAMES: They're a bit mad at me…_

_LILY: Mad at you?_

_JAMES: Yeah. I may have hexed them both for testing the Cruciatus curse on a First Year on Monday…_

_He watched as the smile fell from Lily's face and turned to one of horror as she raised her hand to her mouth. Her passion for doing the right thing, for all things against the Dark Arts was another reason why James loved her so. She was all for the protection of good people, of innocent people, and she was one of the reasons James always wanted to punish the darker Slytherin's who practiced the Dark Arts. James sat up quickly to reassure her:_

_JAMES: Don't worry though, the kid was okay. I took him up to the hospital wing and Pomfrey said he would be fine after a good night's sleep._

_He watched as the red head beside him breathed a sigh of relief, bringing her hand back down to the cloak. She looked down at it, furrowing her eyes slightly and spoke after a small pause:_

_LILY: I thought Invisibility Cloaks were really rare._

_Her eyes met his and James smiled. It was the one item of clothing he was really proud of. Something he'd dreamed of owning one day after his Dad had shown it to him as a child. But he'd been left it in his father's will over the summer. James had abused the responsibility of it recently, having used it on several occasions to get away from everyone, to have a bit of time to himself and reflect on his father's death._

_JAMES: They are. It's a family heirloom. My Dad handed it down to me and it had been handed to his father from his father and so on… I hope to be able to give it to my own son one day._

_LILY: And what if you had a daughter?_

_JAMES: Then I'll be happy, at least then she'll be able to hide from all the boys that'll be after her._

_James' heart rose as Lily laughed out loud. A proper laugh, like the laughs he would hear when she was with her friends. When she felt at ease and was happy. The afternoon wasn't going quite as he'd planned but he felt satisfied that she hadn't run away yet, that she was okay in his presence. He took the cloak as the red head handed it over to him:_

_LILY: Well I hope they'll consider themselves lucky, as they'll have a brilliant father._

_The teens fell silent as they looked at each other with smiles on their faces. James looked down at the cloak in his hands, touched by her compliment. He began to picture a life with her, married with two beautiful children. A boy the spitting image of himself and a little girl the spitting image of her. In the summer he could teach them to play Quidditch in the back garden of their large house while Lily could watch them as she sat curled up on a chair under a tree with a book, possibly expecting their third child. And they'd be so happy all together. One big happy family._

_JAMES: Oh no!_

_James rolled to his side to face Lily as he reached into his right hand pocket pulling out a piece of origami. Rolling back onto his bottom he put a hand to his forehead in frustration staring at the piece of crumpled paper in his hand. He looked to his left over at Lily who looked possibly terrified at his reaction. He sighed and handed her the paper:_

_JAMES: I was going to give this to you but it probably wont work now…_

_He watched as Lily took the paper from his hands, intrigued at the handiwork. He waited for her to begin laughing at him and the ridiculousness of the paper that he'd spent hours crafting together. She laid her hand out flat, the paper laying on it, and she inspected it closely, a soft smile growing on her face. The paper had been crafted into the shape of a heart. It was cheesy and James knew it, but it was just an idea he'd had. He was only planning to give it to her if he thought things were going well between them._

_JAMES: So…you've got my heart. You're going to have to look after it a bit better then I've been though._

_LILY: It's so detailed. James, I had no idea you were-_

_JAMES: Hold on, there's more…if it works that is._

_James nervously held his wand out at the heart in the palm of her hand, and a gave the edge of the paper a little nudge. All of a sudden, the paper heart shot up a few millimetres from the palm of Lily's hand and rummaged itself out of the heart shape, reforming into a tiny paper stag that landed back on Lily's hand and limped around slightly. James was disappointed:_

_JAMES: I shouldn't have fallen on it. Actually I shouldn't have put it in my pocket all together, it just looks stupid now it cant walk properly._

_He reached out to take it back, but Lily yanked her hand away in offence. _

_LILY: Well I love it. It's perfect. Thank you James._

_Hearing her say his name again made James stop worrying. She'd said she loved it. That it his gift was perfect even if it was a little on the broken side. Was it that she loved the gift? Or that she loved the person who had given her the gift? James secretly hoped it was the latter. He'd spent so much of his spare time over the past week getting help from Professor McGonagall, learning how to transform the origami heart into a stag. For however much he'd disliked McGonagall's sharp nature and her lack of enthusiasm for pupils that didn't want to be in her classroom, the woman had loved the idea of the romantic gift going from one student to another. Her enthusiasm had spurred James on to do the best set of transfiguration he'd ever done, the thought of the look on Lily's face being his main motive. And the look on her face at the moment was better than he'd ever expected. Her face was lit up as she looked affectionately at the little paper stag, the animal James himself was able to transform into when he deemed necessary. He'd never made her face light up the way it did now, and this gave him the confidence he needed to tell her all he wanted to tell her. His heart beat nervously as he attempted to organise all the words into the right order:_

_JAMES: Well…you know, you deserve to be treated right. To get gifts like this. To be loved more than anything in the world. To be protected if you need to be. To feel safe when you need to feel safe. To get support when you need support. To have-_

_LILY: -Are you trying to say that you can be all of those things, James?_

_James paused. Of course that was what he was saying. That was all he'd ever been trying to say, for the past six years. It's just he hadn't realised until today that in the past he hadn't really been ready to be all those things. But now he was. He could listen as well as talk. He could advise as well as be advised. He could love and support as well as being loved and supported too. And all of a sudden he realised that this was what being in a relationship was all about. There was more to being in a relationship than just physical attraction._

_JAMES: Well…yeah._

_He looked down at the little origami stag as it stumbled slightly, jumped up and turned itself back into a little paper heart that rested itself back on Lily's hand. He heard her laugh quietly at the origami, an affectionate little laugh that drew his attention and he looked up as a little dimple could be seen at the very corner of her mouth. He watched her free hand reach up and tuck a piece of her red fringe behind her ear, but the hair soon found its way back across her face again as she kept her face down at the origami heart. James found his hand reaching up towards the lock of red hair and he attempted to tuck it behind her ear himself. This time it stayed behind her ear, because the moment his fingers had grazed her face gently she'd looked up and into his eyes. As his hand hesitated by her cheek, he looked at her. Both teens refused to breath, though their hearts raced. James paused, he didn't want to seem cocky, he didn't want to dive straight in and just kiss her. What if that wasn't what she wanted? What if she saw the heart and what he'd said as just a sign of friendship? It's just that now seemed like the most perfect time to kiss her. He looked at her longingly as her bright green eyes stared into his hazel brown and he felt his heart skip a beat as Lily seemingly read his mind, leant forward and placed her lips on his. James had a feeling this must be what heaven felt like. Her lips felt as soft as they had always looked as James returned the kiss, using his fingers that had been cupping her cheek, to move round to her beautiful long red hair. He inhaled deeply, smelling her comforting vanilla scent as their kiss deepened._

_The teens reluctantly parted their faces, remaining close as they looked into each other's eyes again, goofy grins wiped over their faces and they giggled slightly, relieved to have finally broken the sexual tension that had engulfed them for so long. James hesitated. Their first kiss had been a million times better than he'd ever dreamed it could be and he could tell by the look on her face that she had felt the same way._

_JAMES: I can be anything you want me to be Lily._

_Calling her by her first name felt almost as wonderful as her calling him by his first name and James couldn't help the smile that had grown on his face. Everything right now just felt right. It felt perfect. He watched her mouth twist into a small, thoughtful smile. He watched as she continued to look into his eyes:_

_LILY: I just want you to be you. None of this cocky, big headed, "I'm better than everyone" act. Just you. Just James. The James that I've got to know over the past couple of weeks. The James I really like. The James that I'm growing to…love._

_James' heart soared as she spoke. He opened his mouth to show a huge toothy grin. She actually said that she liked him, that she was growing to love him! He watched as Lily reached up to his chin and closed his mouth, leaving her hand grazing its way across his stubble slightly. He'd never dreamed that it would be her that would end up asking him out. Asking him to be her boyfriend._

_JAMES: Does this mean-_

_LILY: Only if you want._

_James had expected words to come out of his mouth, but her big smile became too irresistible and instead he brought his lips back to hers, kissing her as she kissed him feverishly back, sliding her fingers through his messy black hair as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist._

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Sorry the chapters are so long :) I tend to get into the swing of things after a while. They're just such a cute couple 3<strong>**

**Hope you liked this update, let me know if there's anything you particularly dislike about my method of writing or if there's anything in particular you'd like me to include in future chapters..**

**One last cute chapter ahead before the danger of their situation in Godric's Hollow becomes apparent..**

**J/L **


	3. The Hidden Scar

_The snow was beating down steadily on the car as it made its way cautiously down a little quiet lane. James turned to Lily who sat beside him in the back of the vehicle called 'a taxi', which she had reassured him would be the best form of transport in this type of weather in the Muggle world. He'd spent the whole journey on The Hogwarts Express insisting that it would be much quicker to travel by broom. They could've hidden under his invisibility cloak to avoid being seen by Muggle's, and it wasn't as though they had all their luggage packed on the back of the broom as they had it all in the little beaded bag Lily had been given, the bag that you could put the whole contents of a house into and it'd still stay small, slim and unsuspecting. But Lily had refused. Not only had she disliked the idea of getting completely frozen and soaked flying through London out towards Suffolk but she'd also not wanted either of them to look like they'd crawled through a hedge backwards by the time they arrived at their destination._

_The destination in question was that of Lily's Grandmother's cottage that lay in the middle of the quiet Suffolk countryside. Lily had suggested James come with her to her Grandmother's house for Christmas when he'd mentioned he would have to stay at Hogwarts as he had nowhere else to go now that none of his descendents remained alive. It had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time and James had been excited that it was Lily's suggestion for him to meet her family, a big step in the relationship especially when they'd only been going out for three months. James watched as the taxi they were in slowly crept up to the cottage that suddenly appeared from behind a gathering of trees. It was small, perfect for an elderly lady who lived on her own and James' eyes opened in captivation of all the Christmas lights that had been hung all over the front of the small building, and from the looks of things all over the inside of it as well._

_LILY: Grandma likes Christmas._

_James turned his gaze back to his girlfriend who looked at him with her bright green eyes and an embarrassed grin, presumably having seen his reaction to the cottage that was lit up like a light bulb. _

_JAMES: No kidding._

_His heart rose as he heard a giggle leave her lips. It wasn't unusual for her to laugh, or giggle or smile while they were together now and it made him feel so relieved that it was due to him that she seemed so happy. It was all he'd ever wanted to do, to make her happy. _

_The taxi pulled up at the small gate that would open up to the little path that led down to the front door of the cottage. James stuffed a hand deep into his pocket and pulled out some weird paper money that Lily had reassured him would pay for the journey from London to Suffolk. James couldn't quite understand the look on the driver's face when he'd told him to keep the change, but as he slid out of the back of the car to stand beside Lily, her face said it all._

_LILY: You let him keep __all__ the money?_

_James just shrugged as the car drove off. How was he supposed to know how much money was worth in the Muggle world? Money wasn't too much of an issue to him, his parents had left him all of theirs in their will. And it had been a lot of money. He hadn't told Lily about it yet though._

_JAMES: It's Christmas. Let him buy his children some last minute gifts. Or his wife an extra special present._

_He couldn't help the grin on his face as he watched Lily relax into a big smile. He took hold of her slender hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Earlier, on the train journey from Hogwarts to Kings Cross, Lily had confided in him her worries about the coming three weeks at her Grandmother's. James had put a strong arm around her shoulders as she looked up at him, her green eyes glistening with tears as she recalled all of the difficult Christmases she'd had at Grandma Thompson's since she'd started at Hogwarts. During her first year, Lily's mother had passed away, a moment that James couldn't really recall hearing about from anybody in their year. Lily spoke about her mother with affection, admitting that the final two years her mother had been alive had been the happiest for the two of them and her sister, Petunia. And that was because her father was no longer around to cause pain or discomfort amongst the family. But ever since their mother's passing, Petunia had been nothing but cruel to Lily, resulting in Christmases at their Grandmother's being nothing but upsetting and uncomfortable._

_James couldn't believe what he'd heard. The way Lily spoke about her sister was of nothing but adoration, except for the moments when the red head described the spiteful things Petunia had said about her and her magical ability. He wasn't sure if he could stand spending three weeks with Lily's sister if she was going to be spiteful to them, he wasn't sure if he could control his temper for that long, especially if the words spoken would be aimed at his girlfriend. Someone who he felt very protective of._

_LILY: You ready?_

_James looked down at her and mirrored her nervous smile, giving her a little wink and squeezing her hand again before leading her towards the gate of the little cottage. He could feel Lily bring her right hand up to hold his arm as he kept hold of her left hand, understanding just how nervous she had become. The air was bitterly cold, their breath could be seen amongst it while snow continued to glitter down gently. If he weren't so nervous, James could've even described this moment as romantic. As they approached the doorway of the little cottage, James brought his free hand up to knock deftly on the old wooden door, but after no more than one knock the door flew open._

_Stood in the doorway, dressed in a pale pink dressing gown with her long white hair tied in a pony tail which seemed to run down the length of her back was an elderly woman with bright blue eyes and a huge grin on her face. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Lily and pulling her into a tight hug. _

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: Lily, darling!_

_James looked down at his girlfriend as the warm smile returned to her face. She had told him all about her Grandmother. About how loving, caring and encouraging she was. How she always stood by Lily in every decision she made, and seeing the way the old woman had greeted Lily, James could tell the love was mutual. He watched as Grandma Thompson stepped back from her Granddaughter and looked him in the eyes with a sparkle:_

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: And you must be James._

_James nodded with a smile, the energy and excitement from the elderly woman stood before him becoming contagious. It was a relief to him to see that she looked genuinely pleased to meet him, and before he knew it she'd wrapped her arms around him too, giving him a nice warm hug before stepping back. The teens began to follow her into the house, smiling at each other as she chatted away to them:_

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: James. Yes. A good strong name that. It was my husband's name in fact. A brilliant man he was and dashing too, just like you._

_She closed the door behind him, then lowered her voice slightly, looking at Lily in particular with a cheeky grin:_

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: You've done well here girl._

_And with a wink, she began making her way through to a room at the end of a surprisingly long hallway, leaving James to look back down at his girlfriend who had blushed slightly as she fumbled in her little beaded bag. _

_He began pulling his coat off as he looked at all the photos that decked the walls of the front hall. It was unusual for him to see nobody in the photos moving, but Lily had pre-warned him that photos in the Muggle World didn't move as in the past she'd already wished they did and been disappointed. James inspected photo after photo, presumably of Lily's relatives on her mother's side, after all Grandma Thompson was Lily's maternal Grandmother. His brown eyes found their way to a coloured photo of a younger Grandma Thompson stood next to a man James could only presume had been Lily's Grandfather, the husband Grandma Thompson had mentioned. There he noticed a familiar set of bright green eyes that the man possessed and James smiled at the feature Lily had inherited from him. As the teen continued to look at other photos, his eyes fixed on one in particular that hung on the wall beside a coat hanger and he walked over to it. In the picture, stood a couple with two girls. The youngest couldn't have been any older than seven or eight. James smiled as he looked at the little girl with long red hair and bright green eyes who possessed such a strong similarity to Lily that he couldn't doubt it was anybody else. Stood beside Lily was a gangly girl of around ten years old, with dark brown hair and a sour smile who wore a look on her face as though she wasn't comfortable with her picture being taken, nor with the man who held a hand firmly on her shoulder. The hand belonged to a man who stood directly behind her, a stern look on his face which James presumed was Lily's father, a man of authority. Beside the man, stood directly behind the young Lily, was a woman with beautiful red hair that had been pinned neatly into a bun and bright green eyes that matched the youngest child in the picture. Lily's mother had a nervous smile on her face as James noticed the protective hand of Lily's father around her waist. James suddenly felt more sorrow for his girlfriend then he'd ever felt before as he looked at the awkward photo in which the young red haired girl was the only person with a giant unsuspecting grin on her face. His childhood had never been a sad one, it had only been until his mother died when he was ten that he'd felt the first pang of pain and disappointment. And even then his father had been sure to pick him up, dust him down and encourage him to go on. To which James had, relishing in the close alliance of his school friends to keep him going._

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: Lily, your sister's in the living room if you were wondering._

_James turned to see Lily hesitate as her Grandmother's words called from the kitchen. In one swift movement he strode over to her side and she gave him a small smile. The sooner they saw Petunia, the sooner the awkward atmosphere would be broken and the sooner they could get on with the Christmas holiday. Together the teens made their way over to the door James could only presume was that of the living room. _

_As they stepped into the room, they heard a sound coming from a box in the corner of the room that had moving pictures on it showing something called "Top of the Pops" playing a song called "Money Money Money" by a group called "Abba". James looked from the picture box over to a sofa where two people sat, singing along now and again at the song on the box instead of paying any attention to the couple who had just entered the room. The figure of a leggy brunette, with the same sour smile as the eldest girl in the photo James had seen earlier, sat on one side, with her legs lolled over the knees of a broad shouldered young man, who already had a large round belly, despite only looking in his early twenties. James had to hold back a small smile as he looked from Lily's sister to the man he could only presume was her boyfriend._

_LILY: Merry Christmas 'Tunia._

_James wanted to applauded his girlfriend's politeness. He looked from the rude couple sat on the sofa, over to Lily who looked almost close to tears with nerves even though they'd only been in the room for a few moments. He was worried that she would crack at any moment, but fortunately the eldest Evans sister turned to look at the youngest, the once sour smile warming slightly:_

_PETUNIA: Alright Lil?_

_Lily's smile grew as she exhaled, presumably in relief, as the tension in the room began to melt. Petunia removed her legs from her boyfriend's lap, motioning from the teens stood at the door over to the large man sat beside her._

_PETUNIA: This is Vernon. Vernon, this is my sister Lily and-?_

_James watched as Petunia looked over at him expectantly, but instead of speaking he heard Lily gush excitably as she brought a hand up to his shoulder to emphasise her words:_

_LILY: This is James._

_He watched as Vernon held a hand up briefly in greeting, but hadn't removed his gaze from the picture box. James couldn't help disliking him. And he couldn't help disliking Petunia either. The woman was clearly building Lily up for a downward spiral. His girlfriend had sounded so happy, eager and excited to be introducing him to her sister, someone he could tell Lily still looked up to. And true enough, a sarcastic, disappointed, sour smile spread its way across Petunia's lips as she looked him up and down:_

_PETUNIA: And I suppose you're some magical oddity who's cast a spell over my sister then?_

_James gritted his teeth as a screeching laugh erupted from the brunette's mouth while her boyfriend wrenched his gaze from the picture box to laugh whole heartedly with her. James' breathing began to increase as he felt a sudden urge to find his wand and hex the both of them, but suddenly he felt the calm hand of his girlfriend rest on his back and he took a deep breath, resuming his composure. He knew Lily could tell how he was feeling as it was probably how she had felt every Christmas for the past six years. But before he could say anything, Grandma Thompson made her way into the living room, standing the other side of Lily as she looked at the members in the room._

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: Well isn't this nice! My two Granddaughter's bringing their first boyfriend's home for Christmas. Now Lily, James, I'm sure you'll be wanting to take your things to your rooms. Lily, show James to the spare room._

_James watched as Lily's face dropped. He was just as surprised as she was. They'd anticipated both being able to sleep in Lily's room, but the elderly woman before them looked adamant:_

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: Don't look at me like that Lily. You know the rules._

_LILY: But we're sixteen! And I'm sure Vernon wont want to share a room with James…_

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: He wont have to, because he's staying in Petunia's room._

_James watched as his girlfriend twirled her head around to her sister who had grinned at her, sticking a childish tongue out, before wrapping Vernon's arm around her shoulder while he continued to watch the box in the corner of the room absent minded. Lily had turned back to her Grandmother, the desperation in her voice becoming clear:_

_LILY: Grandma that's so unfair!_

_GRANDMA THOMPSON: Petunia is three years older than you Lily, it's completely fair. Now I wont hear another word about the whole thing. Show James to his room, then it'll be time for supper._

_James watched as the elderly woman walked out of the room victorious as his girlfriend fumed, turning back to glower her sister in aggravation. Petunia had merely continued to grin as her little sister worked her way up into a fiery state. After a moment, Lily gave in, taking James by the arm and leading him out of the room as Petunia called after them:_

_PETUNIA: Even magic wont get you out of this one Lil's!_

_As James ascended the stairs behind Lily he could tell they were in for a very long Christmas._

JAMES: How long have you been awake for?

He looked with affection as his wife continued to smile, if not with a sleepier hint to it. He watched her shrug slightly, adjusting her position to sit up gently so as not to wake their son, who still remained in a deep sleep.

LILY: Since we came up here.

JAMES: So much for an afternoon nap then…

James brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes. It had become a daily tradition to come up to their warm little bedroom after lunch for a peaceful nap. Harry seemed to have a better temperament if he slept for a little while in the afternoon and it helped James and Lily to relax somewhat. But as James looked back over at his wife he saw a distracted, concerned look on her face as she looked down at their sleeping son, her voice sounding distant:

LILY: I couldn't sleep.

The bedroom fell silent again as the couple's words came to a natural conclusion. All that could be heard was the rain gently rattling against the bedroom window and the breathing of their baby boy laying between them. James continued to watch Lily as she rubbed her eyes sleepily then leant back onto her elbow to watch their son. They hadn't had the easiest couple of years and he almost blamed himself for the big mix-up they had been involved in.

Christmas would mark two years since their move to Godric's Hollow. Since their move into hiding. A move to protect their son. James felt if only he hadn't acted on the love he had always felt for Lily back at Hogwarts. If he had just left her alone. If he had been stronger at dissuading her from joining the wizarding war. If he hadn't married her. If he hadn't got her pregnant. Then she would be happy. There wouldn't be this sad, distant look on her face right now, a look that had become common thanks to their current need to go into hiding from the Dark Lord. James felt if he hadn't done all those things then she would be safe. His eyes ran down towards her stomach, where her baggy shirt had ridden up revealing a section of flesh and on that section of flesh his wife bore a long, thin, messy scar. James absentmindedly brought a finger out and gently traced the scar as he saw his wife, in the corner of his eye, look over at him before resuming her concentration on their little baby boy. He knew that she had become used to him tracing his finger over the scar and he looked at it with a soft smile on his face as he remembered the moment he had found out about it:

_JAMES: What's that?_

_He watched Lily pause for a moment while she leaned over his body to collect her shirt from the floor of the prefect's bathroom. Since returning to Hogwarts after Christmas they had begun taking every opportunity to escape to the private, luxurious bathroom in the castle. It was a much better location to make love than the awkward moment their first time had been, in Lily's room over Christmas when her family had gone to the Christmas Market in the little village near to where Grandma Thompson lived. First time round it had hurt, for both of them, and the added worry of the rest of the family returning home at any time had added to the nerves and worry. But since then they had spent more of that intimate time together to the point where they had begun to enjoy it. Now, laying comfortably on the edge of the giant bath in the prefect's bathroom that they both had access to, the threat of the student curfew was upon them and Lily had lazily sat up from her position cuddled up in James' arms, to lean over his body and reach for her shirt which lay on the floor beside them. It was then that the scar caught his eye for the first time. Lily looked down at the part of her body he was pointing at so curiously and he watched her blush slightly in embarrassment._

_LILY: …It's a scar._

_James sat up to inspect her stomach closer but she began to put her shirt back on, with the intention of covering the skin up. James held his hands up for her to stop, which she did so reluctantly. He peered at it carefully through his spectacles, before holding a hand out and smoothing a fingertip over the scar. It felt old and rough to the touch, as though whichever wizard at St Mungo's had attempted to heal it hadn't done a very good job. James hesitated for a moment remembering that Lily had only been a part of the Wizarding World for six and a half years. This scar looked as though it were older than that. That there had been no spell, antidote or potion to heal it fully._

_JAMES: How come I've never noticed it before?_

_He looked up and locked his hazel eyes with her bright green eyes. The sparkle that had been there over the past couple of hours had disappeared and for the first time since their first day of the Christmas holidays he saw a slight sadness wash over her face. He pulled his hand away from the scar and she looked away from him as she pulled her shirt down over her stomach and scar._

_LILY: I've…been hexing it to look normal. I just…I wanted to look normal for you._

_James furrowed his brow in confusion. It wasn't a huge scar, thin and maybe two or three inches long stretching from several millimetres to the left of her belly button round to her side. He couldn't imagine why she would be so embarrassed about it, especially around him._

_JAMES: What do you mean 'normal'? Lily you're the most beautiful woman in the world! And if you think a silly little scar like that is going to stop me from wanting to be with you then you're wrong._

_He watched her cheeks flush slightly as he paid her the compliment, but he meant it. There was no part of her that he didn't love and admire. He watched as her eyes drew their way back to his and a small embarrassed smile grew at the corners of her luscious lips._

_LILY: But its ugly…_

_JAMES: It's not! It's a part of you Lily, just like being an arrogant toe-rag is a part of me._

_He watched her face crumple into an apologetic look, he knew she'd called him that over and over again during their early years at Hogwarts but looking back on it she'd been right._

_LILY: You're not an arrogant toe-rag…_

_JAMES: Oh I am, I'm sure there's a little bit of it hanging around in me._

_And as he said it, he picked up his wand and enchanted three bottles of bubble bath to juggle beside them. He gave her a jokey grin and a wink, enchanting the bottles back to the ground as he saw a relaxed smile return to his girlfriend's face. All he ever wanted to do was make her happy. Even if it took a bit of arrogance to do so. As he placed his wand back down on the bathroom floor he spoke tenderly:_

_JAMES: But my arrogance doesn't stop you from wanting to be with me, just like your scar doesn't stop me from wanting to be with you._

_He drew his face close to hers, her light breath against his face sending excited shivers over his body. He loved being with her, alone or in the company of others. And to know that she was his just as he had always been her's meant the world to him._

_JAMES: So no more hexing okay?_

_LILY: Okay._

_He saw her body relax and her smile increase as he took his hand, pushed back her long red hair and cupped her cheek. He looked into her bright green eyes, the eyes that made him fall in love with her over and over and over again:_

_JAMES: I love you Lily Evans._

_LILY: I love you too James Potter._

_With one last breath, James leant forward and felt her soft lips against his as her fingers crept their way to the back of his head, feeding their way through his unruly hair as their kiss deepened._

* * *

><p><strong>Another update, gradually leading up to a big finale. I know that not a lot of it is set during the present time and there's a lot of it set in the past, sorry about that.<strong>

**My hope is to get this story finished before the final film is released on Friday as I went to a screening of it two weeks ago and I'm dying to put in the words that Lily desperately whispers to Harry before Voldermort arrives "Mummy loves you. Mummy loves you so much. Harry, be brave. Be strong." (or something to that effect, I just remember almost crying when she refers to herself as "Mummy")**

**Oh it breaks my heart ever so slightly that there wasn't more Lily & James in the film. And no scenes with the two of them together :( well apart from the Resurrection scene..  
>Never mind, all the more scenes for my imagination to create.<br>Hope you enjoyed this update, and I will add another chapter soon.  
>Thanks for all the ratings and reviews, it really keeps me going :) <strong>


	4. 22nd December 1977

Lily froze, her finger pausing on her son's podgy little arm as she watched the baby begin to wake. She was impressed Harry had been asleep for as long as he had, the rain had been rattling hard against the window pane for what must've been a good two or so hours since they'd come up to the bedroom. She would've looked around for a clock, but knew there wasn't one there after James had taken it upon himself to get rid of the clock in their bedroom. That was the thing about being in hiding. Being stuck indoors for most of the day everyday meant that she'd been looking at the time far too much, to the point that she'd become obsessed with time, reminding her husband of it every ten minutes or so. This forced James to dramatically blow up the very clock she'd been focusing on, his temper getting the better of him. Lily looked over at her husband who was looking at her with the same old relaxed smile that he'd always looked at her with. It wasn't often his bad temper showed, but being stuck in this house with only an hours window in the evening to pop out for a quick walk in the fresh air meant that he would get irritated with little things from time to time. Lily was calm and patient, knowing to go to a different room of the little house if she found herself getting worked up. She knew it wasn't fair on her husband or son if she was openly angry with them. She and James were fast approaching their four year wedding anniversary, a day that Lily presumed would be a quiet affair. Nothing special, just a quiet dinner once Harry had gone to sleep, and hopefully the complete opposite of their actual wedding a few years previous:

_The walls were lined with beautiful white and lilac drapes and floating candles hovering inches above every table, the little village hall that had been hired out at the last minute didn't seem as bad as Lily feared it would do. She wasn't one for over-the-top decoration nor for big celebrations, but as she sat on a table with James to her right and their friend Remus to her left, she couldn't help but feel how perfect today was. It was, after all, her wedding day. A day that she'd dreamt about since she was a little girl. Back then she'd imagined a big wedding, with a horse drawn carriage, a big white dress, hundreds of guests, her Dad walking her down the aisle of a large cathedral-esque church…but those had been the days when she'd been oblivious to the Wizarding World. So much had happened since then. Her parents were no longer alive and the threat in the Wizarding World had been on an all-time high with the rise of a new Lord who was getting more powerful as each day passed. So a small quiet wedding followed by a small quiet reception was what they'd had to have, as anything large, leery and over the top would've resulted in an ideal opportunity for the Dark Lord to attack, wanting to take the chance to wipe out some of the most powerful wizards in the world._

_Lily took time to look around the small room with a smile on her face. There was just the right amount of people, and all the people she would've wanted to be here to share her special day. The speeches had just been made. One by James, one by Sirius, James' best man. And one by Albus Dumbledore, their old headmaster, head of the group they worked in 'The Order of the Phoenix', and their good friend. Now all attendees sat eating, drinking, laughing and chatting away about memories they had of the happy couple. Lily glanced from a small group of people which included her old school friends, over to three of her old Professors: Dumbledore, McGonagall and Slughorn; all three of whom had been good to her over the years and she trusted would be good to her for many more years to come. Most members of the Order that she and James were a part of were spread out amongst the room, an Order that was formed to fight any dark magic in the world. Then Lily's eyes were drawn to a small table towards the back of the room, where her Grandma Thompson sat with Lily's sister Petunia and Petunia's boyfriend Vernon. Petunia sat with a scowl on her face as though she didn't like the idea of being sat in a room full of Wizards, but Lily felt slightly guilty that her older sister might be jealous that it wasn't her wedding day. As far as Lily was aware Vernon hadn't even mentioned the idea of marriage, something that she knew Petunia was very interested in. She felt James slip a hand onto her knee and give it a little squeeze, causing the red head to turn to her new husband, smiling as he saw how happy he was._

_JAMES: Are you okay?_

_Lily nodded, accepting his kiss excitably. Everything had happened so quickly. It was exactly fifteen months to the day since their first kiss back in Hogsmeade. And exactly five months since they'd finished at Hogwarts. Since then they'd been working as part of The Order of the Phoenix, fighting against the Dark Lord and his followers, the Death Eaters. They'd had over eighteen run-ins with them since they'd joined, the most recent being last week when a killing curse had very almost struck Lily. It was at that moment when both Lily and James had realised just how short their lives could actually be, so in a spur of the moment decision they'd decided to marry, knowing how important the bond between Husband and Wife was in the Wizarding World. Within a week friends of the couple, parents of the friends of the couple, friends of friends of the couple, even Professors with whom Lily had been a favourite student of had all pitched together to provide a location, food, drink, music, a church, transport and above all privacy and protection for the wedding. Lily and James couldn't believe how much trouble everyone had gone to making sure the day went smoothly in such a short space of time. Now Lily sat in a beautiful white satin dress that had been made for her by an old friend of Dumbledore's, a woman called Batilda. Her long red hair had been crafted up into a loose bun by her close friend Alice, who happened to be a dab-hand at styling hair with just a wave of her wand. And her Grandma had even given her a family heirloom that had been passed down from woman to woman through generations: a small, beautifully crafted gold heart that hung on a very thin golden chain. Naturally Petunia had been disgusted with the rash decision, telling Lily over and over that she was making a mistake, that the longer she spent with 'that Potter boy' the more likely she was going to get herself killed. Lily had rolled her eyes as her sister used 'three days to Christmas' as an excuse but the youngest Evans sister had merely chosen to ignore Petunia's protests, stating that James was worth it. _

_Lily grasped hold of her new husband's hand, the feeling of the wedding band on her finger still alien against their skin as she kissed him deeply. This was the happiest she'd ever felt. She knew her life belonged with him and even though there was danger around every corner, she knew that so long as they were together nothing could ever go wrong. A loud groan sounded from James' right as they heard Sirius whining, still clearly uncomfortable around the lovebirds, and he was hardly discreet about it:_

_SIRIUS: Honestly, get a room!_

_The couple parted, giggling slightly. Many people had mentioned to them that day how romantic it was that the two of them had fallen in love so quickly, got married so quickly and would presumably settle down quickly too. At the age of seventeen both Lily and James were considered as adults in the Wizarding World, but not in the Muggle World, a fact that Lily's Grandma had initially struggled to accept: "But you're only seventeen, Lily. You're not old enough to become somebody's wife!" Lily had known there was nothing the old woman could do about it, so after a little bit of persuasion and a promise that if she attended the wedding then they'd name their first daughter after her, Grandma Thompson had put her worries of their young age behind her. Lily continued to giggle as James turned to his best man, his eyebrows raised as he teased his friend:_

_JAMES: We have got a room, it's just that everyone's in it._

_Lily's smile faded slightly as she noticed the lights in the room flickering. She could tell that the wizards and witches around her had noticed it too, as they all fell silent whilst drawing their wands. All that could be heard was the romantic music playing in the background, and Vernon hissing at Petunia asking what was going on. But Lily looked over at Petunia who had gone pale, shaking her head slightly. Her sister knew that something was wrong, she just couldn't tell what it was. But Lily knew, and she stood up with James, their chairs making a scraping sound that echoed around the little room. Her heart dropped as she listened intently for any sign of danger. Why did they have to come today of all days? It had been joked throughout the past week that if the Dark Lord decided to attack then he'd be a fool, what with so many powerful wizards together in one place. Out of the corner of her eye Lily saw a flash of red light as dark masked figure appeared out of nowhere and sent a curse flying past her head. James stepped in front of her quickly to begin duelling with the Death Eater as all of a sudden Death Eaters appeared from nowhere, firing spells at the wedding guests._

_Many of the guests, who's wands had already been drawn, were ready for the curses and were more than happy to begin duelling with the unwelcome arrivals. For a moment Lily froze, breathing heavily as she watched her husband stood in front of her shooting spell after spell at the original Death Eater. The room was filled with shouting, the sound of spells hitting people, hitting things, hitting other spells and the sound of a blood curdling scream. Lily's heart dropped as she recognised the scream and looked over James' shoulder, behind the Death Eater he was duelling and at the figure of her sister who was stood up from the table she'd sat at, desperately trying to drag Grandma Thompson out of her chair. The old woman looked petrified as Petunia clung to her arm whilst an overweight Vernon attempted to get out of his own chair. In a heartbeat Lily reached under her dress, pulling out the small beaded bag that she'd tied to her thigh just in case she needed its contents, and grabbed her wand from within it before dashing towards her last living family members. She could hear James calling her name, knowing that he feared for her safety, but right now she didn't care. All she could think about was getting to her family, the only members of the wedding party that had no way of protecting themselves. Ducking to avoid spells she jumped over the body of their friend Peter who was being subjected to the Cruciatus curse. Pausing momentarily, she turned to the masked Death Eater who cursed the young man beside her, stunning him and he disappeared. Lily bent over to double check Peter was okay. He nodded timidly, twitching nervously, a symptom that Lily knew was a result of the curse. She stood up quickly, looking over at her family. All of a sudden she saw a flash of green light and for a moment Lily's heart stopped. The sight of her Grandma's limp body collapse onto the ground brought tears to her eyes as she apparated away from the spot she was stood at, to a spot in front of her sister who was still screaming uncontrollably, partly because of what had just happened to their Grandma and partly because her little sister had just appeared out of thin air. Lily cast a killing curse at the masked figure only for it to rebound away. She cast the spell over and over and over again, in an attempt to find some form of revenge, her anger and emotions rising to encourage her wand and it's actions. Finally the bride won, the Death Eater not strong enough to repel the powerful spells for so long. Lily turned to her sister, but found herself staring at a blank space, her heart dropping once more as she realised Petunia and Vernon had run off. She didn't blame them._

_It felt as if the world was going in slow motion. Flashes of red, yellow and green light flying around the room as bodies dropped to the ground or apparated from one part to another. Lily looked back over to James who had just defeated the Death Eater he'd been duelling and now joined his friend Sirius in duelling another Death Eater, two against one. Lily began to make her way back to him, knowing that with him she wouldn't be venerable. She saw the familiar cloaked figure of the Dark Lord duelling with Dumbledore, neither looking as though they were making any progress. Meanwhile McGonagall looked to be taking on two Death Eaters, Mulciber and Avery, both unafraid of their identity being known by members of The Order. An invisible spell was fired from the Death Eater James was duelling and hit Sirius in the chest, sending the young man flying back and landing on a heap on the floor. Instinctively Lily apparated to James knowing that her husband would rather disband the duel and go to the aid of his best friend. She appeared a mere foot away from James, her heart racing at the thought of him being in danger. Lily felt her wand shoot away from her grip as the expelliarmus spell was cast at her by the very Death Eater who had knocked Sirius to the ground. She was now unarmed, watching in horror as she heard a familiar voice come from the masked Death Eater as he pointed his wand at her husband:DEATH EATER: Sectumsempra!_

_LILY: NO!_

_Lily's stomach dropped and in a millisecond she brought her hands out towards her husband causing an almost invisible bubble that wrapped its way around the two of them. The spell rebounded off the bubble, hitting a Death Eater that had been winning a duel against Professor Slughorn, and caused the masked man to shriek in pain as deep cuts appeared all over his body, blood seeping heavily from within him. The powerful force field around James and Lily had made an almighty thud as it wound its way around them, the power of it causing the masked Death Eater that had been attacking them to fall backwards colliding with Dumbledore, who had been duelling with his back to them._

_All of a sudden the duels stopped and all wizards and witches both good and evil stared at the bride and groom, all gob smacked by the wandless magic that had been performed. But Lily's eyes weren't on any of them, she ignored the thought of James becoming angry with her for using wandless magic. He'd always told her that if she ever used it in front of the Dark Lord then she'd be in danger, that the Dark Lord would want her to become a Death Eater herself and that if she'd refuse, like James knew she would, that she'd be tortured and killed. But Lily had acted spontaneously, the love she had for James had encouraged the power of the magic and how it would protect him. She couldn't bare the thought of living her life without him._

_Lily felt her heart falling as her bright green eyes focused on the face of the Death Eater who's mask had fallen off with the collision. Her old school friend. The boy she'd grown up with. Severus Snape. She watched as he stood up, staring at James angrily, before his face softened as he looked at her. But she felt angry. Betrayed. Horrified that he had just attacked her husband. The man she loved. If he cared for her at all he would've never ruined her wedding day._

_LILY: Leave now Severus. Just go._

_There was hatred in her voice as she practically spat the words out. She could see the Dark Lord watching her, seemingly mesmerised for some reason, as he approached Severus and placed a hand on his shoulder. The Death Eater momentarily flinched, confused by the look on his Master's face, before turning back to Lily apologetically._

_DARK LORD: Yes Severus, we must listen to the young Mudblood. As you can see, she is very powerful. We wouldn't want to get into her bad books now, would we?_

_And in a snap, the Dark Lord, Severus and the rest of the Death Eaters disappeared. Lily's spell fell down from around James and he lunged towards her as she fell to her knees in floods of tears. Tears for the ruined day that she'd been so looking forward to. Tears for the exhaustion that her wandless magic had caused her. Tears for the heightened danger she sensed they were now in. And tears for the loss of her dear Grandmother, the closest person she'd had to her mother. The person she'd always turned to for help, support and advice. Now she had nobody left, only James._

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's a bit of a short one, still trying to get little bits of their past together to form a nice background for them.<br>Hope you've all had a chance to see the final Potter movie, its going to be sad now its all over eh?  
>R&amp;R x <strong>


	5. The Move

James Potter stared at his wife in content as the rain continued to rattle against the window of the cosy bedroom. His eyes glanced down at the necklace that hung from her neck, dangling above their son as she leant on her elbow. The necklace that she had worn ever since she had been given it on the morning of their wedding day almost four years ago. The day that her Grandma had been killed. James remembered the heartache his wife had suffered at the hands of the Dark Lord and his followers. He had never, ever wanted her to hurt, to feel pain emotionally or physically, so at the end of their tragic wedding day as they lay on their bed, James holding Lily so tenderly as she sobbed in his arms, he vowed that from then on he would do everything within his power to never hear her cry like that again. But no matter how powerful he was, no matter how powerful Lily was, nothing could've prepared them for the heartache that struck them the following year:

_James sat frozen on an uncomfortable seat, the colour drained from his face as he stared stonily at a blank space on the wall that was covered in moving posters that highlighted the importance of regular infant potions for toddlers, to help them grow strong throughout their childhood. But James didn't want to look at them, to read the words while the image of a scrawny-looking kid looked up unhappily at a confident, healthier looking kid. An empty space had appeared in the young man's heart as images of the previous hour flooded his mind. _

_It hadn't even been a losing fight. The members of the Order outnumbered the Death Eaters by far. If only he'd put his foot down. If only he'd insisted that Lily stay at the Order's base, Grimmauld Place, then she wouldn't have been there, she wouldn't have been hit by that spell. She wouldn't have flown back hundreds of metres, landing in a crumpled mass on the floor, passing out in the process. James brought his hands to his head as he tried to erase the image of his beautiful wife, bloodied. bruised and unconscious from the messy landing._

_Now the nineteen year old sat in the lonely waiting room of St Mungo's hospital, with nothing and no one but his thoughts. The day they'd got married he'd promised to protect her until his dying day, to lay his life on the line in order to save her. He knew his wife was headstrong, that once she made her mind up there was no changing it, so telling her to stay at Grimmauld Place would've been pointless particularly as she always wanted to help, to be an extra person who could help fight the evil out there. So if only he'd been right beside her, possibly fighting the same Death Eater that had cursed her, then maybe they wouldn't be here. They'd be back at the house, having supper and chatting about the past fight and how they could improve things next time around, or chatting about their future._

_Suddenly the door of the room opened slowly with a long creak and a Wizarding doctor poked his head around the door. James had seen lots of Dr Whirenden over the past couple of months, but had never seen the look that the man now wore on his face as he stood in the doorway. The teenager made his way over to the doctor with a hopeful look on his face, but the professional merely shook his head with a sad sigh:_

_DR WHIRENDEN: I'm sorry James._

_James' stomach twisted as he heard the doctors words. Instead of waiting to hear more, he strode out of the room and down the corridor checking empty room after empty room that lead off it. He could barely breath, barely gather his thoughts, all he wanted to do was find Lily, to hold her. All of a sudden he stopped outside a room, knowing she would be in it. He held a hand up and nervously opened the door, having no idea what sort of state she'd be in, the most recent image he had of her being a bloodied mass. The room was clean and silent with the exception of a cauldron that bubbled away in the corner of the room, presumably brewing her next antidote._

_The air caught in James' throat as his chocolate brown eyes set their sights on his wife, who was sat bolt upright in a hospital bed, her long red hair looking straggled. The cuts and bruises that had once been all over her face, arms and hands had disappeared and James thanked the Lord that he had got her to the hospital in time for them to be healed completely in one go. But despite her physical injuries finally gone, the look on her face was that of a woman who was completely distraught. James' heart broke as he watched her look up at him before breaking down in tears. He rushed over to her side, climbing onto the bed beside her, bringing her hands down from her face and pulling her into a tight hug as they mourned the loss of their unborn child._

LILY: Harry…

James continued to smile as his wife giggled at their son who was now wide awake, remaining on his back as he grabbed hold of the delicate necklace that dangled before him. Lily gently pulled the baby's fingers from around the precious heirloom, replacing the necklace underneath the baggy shirt she wore.

LILY: …what has Mamma told you about pulling on her necklace?

James watched with joy as his wife spoke with such affection with a warm smile on her face as she quickly glazed her fingertip onto Harry's nose, causing the little boy to laugh. He couldn't describe the love he felt for the two of them. They still couldn't believe their luck that they had Harry, particularly after the heartache they endured with the miscarriage that had happened in the early part of their marriage. James watched as Harry rolled onto his stomach and pulled his little body towards him, the smile still splattered over the baby's face. The Potter's had made big decisions as a couple to ensure the safety of their first-born, and as James picked up his little boy, lifting him high above his body causing the baby to giggle loudly in excitement, he thought back to the moment when their lives as they knew it changed:

_James leaned against the wooden doorframe, a relaxed smile lolled on his face as he watched his wife happily singing along to a song on the radio, jigging along as best as she could while cooking the dinner. He always admired her for her insistence to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner from scratch without any assistance from magic. "Cooking the Muggle way" as Lily always called it. And this was how she'd always been, from the first day of their marriage until over two years later, at the lovely little townhouse they'd bought as their first marital home in the centre of London, James' theory being that the busier the area the less likely Death Eaters would attack. And he'd been right, they'd had no interruptions or disturbances and their house had a wonderfully large fireplace, perfect for every Order member to enter the house at the same time if they so wished. _

_They'd spent the past couple of years making the house their own, decorating it and transforming it into a comfortable cosy place they could call home, the perfect environment to return to after a hectic day with the Order. Now James stood, smiling as he watched Lily shimmying around the kitchen to the beat of the song she was singing along to as her body boasted a large bump on her stomach. He was so proud of the way she was dealing with this pregnancy. They never talked about the miscarriage the previous year, wanting to focus solely on this pregnancy with the hope that it wont end in heartache like the last time. They were fast approaching eight months into the pregnancy, and despite struggling with the heat of the British summer, Lily had been reasonably calm and unfazed by the next big step they were taking._

_The red head stopped singing and dancing suddenly as her eyes caught the figure of her husband standing in the doorway, smiling at her with his hands shoved in his pockets. James watched as she put down her dishcloth, walked over to him, taking his hands, before swaying to the music with the intention of encouraging him to dance. He couldn't stay still for long and soon he'd wrapped his arms around her waist as best he could. The Potter's swayed happily to the beat of the song as it filtered through the kitchen, their eyes boring into each others as they enjoyed the rare moment of peace that they got together. Recently James had had to go out to fight, while Lily either stayed at home or at Grimmauld Place, waiting nervously, hopeful that her husband would return. Things had changed since they'd first started out in the Order. Lord Voldermort was becoming more and more powerful by the day, stopping at nothing to make sure people were converted to his team of Death Eaters or, if they refused, killed needlessly._

_LILY: You've got a bit of paint on your cheek._

_James closed his eyes for a moment as his wife's soft hand glazed his cheek affectionately. He looked into her bright green eyes, his smile presumably mirroring hers as he felt as happy as she did. He'd been spending the whole day painting their baby's bedroom. A room they'd bought so many things for. Teddy bears, books, a little wardrobe, a little cot, a beautiful handcrafted mobile that had tiny wooden owls hung from a beautiful wooden frame. The time was almost upon them when they could finally begin their family, something they'd been ready to do for a long time._

_A gushing noise sounded from the living room and the couple reluctantly parted as they made their way through to the fireplace where they knew the sound had come from, presumably with a visitor. The two greeted the visitor with wide smiles as their eyes met the blue eyes of their old headmaster and trusted friend, Albus Dumbledore. But the smiles weren't returned as the old wizard stood before them with a grave expression on his face:_

_DUMBLEDORE: I'm afraid I have bad news. If you'd both like to come with me to Grimmauld Place and I'll explain more when we arrive there._

Lily let out a giggle as she watched Harry reach out and grab James' glasses, a popular form of entertainment for the one year old. She couldn't help feel excited about the future, about how Harry was going to grow up, hopefully into a fine young man, with his father's good looks and his mother's smart brain. She hoped it wouldn't be long before the threat from the Dark Lord would subside and that the Potter's could finally be freed from the prison of their own home. A home they had never chosen but a building they had made their own:

_Lily stood motionless just inside the door of the small house. She didn't like it. It was much smaller than the home they had just left in London. __Their__ home. It didn't matter that all of their possessions currently resided in the small beaded bag that Dumbledore had once again lent to her, it still didn't feel like home. If anything she felt more unsafe. A calm wave rushed over her body as she felt James smooth a hand across her back and she turned to look at him, her bright green eyes catching his chocolate brown. He looked almost as unsure as she did, but as she saw a reassuring smile spread across his face, she couldn't help but smile slightly to herself, relieved at least to still be living with him. Her hand rested protectively on her bump as James took the other and they cautiously made their way from room to room. It had been less than two days since they were sat at the large table in Grimmauld Place, surrounded by fellow Order members who'd been looking at them gravely. Dumbledore had told them about a Prophecy that had been foreseen by a prospective Divination Professor of Hogwarts. A prophecy that immediately affected Lily, James and their unborn child. There was a small chance that the Prophecy didn't relate to them, after all it had said about a boy born in July but Lily and James didn't know if they were expecting a boy or a girl. As Dumbledore spoke about the danger they were in, that Lord Voldermort knew about the Prophecy and would do anything within his power to eradicate any potential child that would one day defeat him, Lily immediately knew what the Order were going to suggest. So here they were, quickly swept up with all of their belongings and brought to a little cottage in the quiet village of Godric's Hollow. A village they were told was safe. They'd been given strict instructions never to leave the cottage during the day, and if they were to leave in the evening to be sure that they were escorted by another member of the Order for protection._

_Lily followed James up the creaking steps of the little cottage, listening to her husband take note of all the things he would need to improve such as laying carpet down and re-painting the walls. But as his words filtered through her mind nonchalantly, she sadly thought about the perfect house they'd left behind. They'd sorted out their baby's room, it was all ready for the arrival. Now they would have to start all over again and Lily wasn't even sure there was time. They entered the first bedroom on the left, standing in an empty room with hard old wooden floorboards, yet with a charming little fireplace that stood beside the door. Lily looked over at her husband who had a surprised little grin on his face._

_JAMES: Look Lil, a fireplace. We couldn't get a house with a fireplace in the bedroom in London._

_She admired his ability to look on the bright side, a personality trait she usually took on herself. But for now the insecurity of moving house so close to the date she was due to give birth was shaking the young red-head. She couldn't feel confident, or happy. She just felt as though the past couple of days had been a blur, that the idea of them being in so much danger meant they had to move to a safe house…_

_Lily followed James, past the bathroom that stood opposite the bedroom they'd just left and through to a little bedroom that stood at the end of the landing. As she stepped into it, a small wave of relief rushed over her. This room wasn't so bad. It was carpeted for a start, and she could imagine where the contents of her small beaded bag could be placed in it. This would be a perfect nursery for their baby. Easily accessible from their bedroom, and the door was directly opposite the top of the stairs. Lily found a small smile drifting onto her face as she felt James squeeze her hand and she looked up at him. They could make do with what they'd been given. After all, so long as they were together, what's the worse that could happen?_


End file.
